


Ironclad Friends

by Zehntacles



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:49:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29688387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zehntacles/pseuds/Zehntacles
Summary: Princess Twilight Sparkle is in need of a unique armor design for when she eventually has a royal guard of her own.  Seeking assistance with the royal blacksmith of Equestria, Twilight learns how important both honor and art are to a traditional metal worker.





	1. Chapter 1

Within the depths of the Castle of Friendship sat Princess Twilight Sparkle, the purple alicorn and new ruler of a not-quit-there-yet kingdom. All the pieces were present for a kingdom; a luxurious castle decorated with crystals and a unique tree like shape. A sprawling land with citizens to populate the town at the edge of the castle. She even had a pretty crown to wear when she had to act all royal and responsible. But even though these things were all present Twilight still didn't feel like her "kingdom" was a real one. 

Not that she minded that much. Twilight liked helping ponies when they needed her assistance and becoming a princess had put that at the forefront of her duties, no longer just a simple librarian. So exerting herself to help others wasn't the issue within her lands. It was the fact that she feared at some point she'd have to start taking her position more seriously. Making declarations, dividing borders and expanding the prosperity of her subjects. The idea of it was daunting. Which was why Twilight was putting the whole thing off as much as she could. 

Reclining in a comfy chair Twilight was reading one of her many new books and eating an apple while she did. This simple pass time was her favorite and she had to admit being a princess let her enjoy it more often than before. Sure she had her magical studies and experiments to perform but if the need to just cool off and rest came to her she could do it as desired. Not to mention the library was the most comforting room in the large castle. Since the entire building had been grown from an old, powerful magic she had been at the mercy of whatever magical machinations put the building together. Thankfully she had this little corner to herself which reminded her of her previous home. 

But not just the books helped her settle in. Her companion Spike, the small purple dragon, was still by her side as well. He walked into the room, carrying a pile of rolled documents in his arms. Even with the increased living space and being provided his own bedroom Spike was still always present to help her. A blessing if there ever was one. The dragon quickly unloaded the rolled documents onto the table in a neat order and Twilight used her magic to lower her book to the ground next to her chair. "Hey Spike, are those the potion recipes I ordered." 

"You bet. I thought ponies were willing to help you out when you'd tell them you were Celestia's student. But put a 'Princess' in front of your name and you can get anything you want."

"I don't really like using my station to manipulate things to my favor." Twilight explained, approaching the table where Spike was working. 

"Gotta admit it has its perks." She couldn't deny that Spike was right with that statement, but Twilight still preferred to be treated like a normal pony when given the chance. There had been enough trouble before with her anxiety and trying to get by in social situations. Now that she was royalty it was often her causing the tension instead of the other way around. Life was funny like that.

"Hmm... you have two sets of rows here, what's this one?" Twilight asked, picking up one of the documents that didn't look like what she was expecting.

"Oh, those are from Princess Celestia. I didn't read them but if I had to guess it was tips on getting your kingdom in order." Twilight shuddered at the idea. She really would have rather just spent the day looking over the fascinating magical knowledge she'd requested... but ignoring her teacher was probably a poor decision. Lifting the different rolled papers before her with her magic, she looked over each one to decide which to address first. Unfortunately they all looked exactly the same; paper rolled with a red ribbon and a royal seal. Twilight mixed them all up together and then turned to Spike. 

"I can't decide which one to look at first. You choose." 

"You're really that intimidated by these?" Spike asked and Twilight could only respond with a nervous smile. Spike sighed in response. "Alright, let's see." Quickly grabbing a scroll from the middle he removed the seal with clawed fingers. Twilight placed the other documents back on the table with her magic and awaited as Spike unrolled the paper and read its contents. "Hmm... hm. Oh, hey! This one's kinda neat. Princess Celestia is suggesting you design an armor for your soldiers." 

"Soldiers? I don't have soldiers. I don't even have anyone living in this castle besides you and me." 

"Well you'll need them some day, right? Otherwise who's going to protect your kingdom?" 

"Spike, my kingdom is Ponyville and an unnecessarily large castle standing out like a sore hoof at the end of town. Who's going to attack?" 

"Maybe any of the different things that have threatened Ponyville before it had a Princess Twilight?" It was true that their town had run across a number of crazy events before. But they'd always come through without any long lasting damage. Aside from her library that is. "Besides this is planning for the future. Just because you're picking out an armor now doesn't mean you have to immediately get soldiers to fill them out. We could put them on some dress dummies and decorate the castle with them!" Spike seemed more enthused by the idea of armors lining her halls than she did. 

"I don't know... it feels weird to think about the idea that I'll need someone guarding me one of these days. I don't feel like I require something that special." 

"But you are that special now." Twilight didn't want to admit it but he was right, things had changed a lot since the first day she'd moved to Ponyville. "Or we could open up one of those other documents Celestia sent and have TWO items to check off the list instead of one." Twilight shuddered at the idea of her list of personal responsibilities being filled with even more tasks she didn't want to complete. 

"No! We'll work on the armor. I mean how hard can it be?"

* * *

Some time later the halls of Twilight's castle held more than the normal pair of inhabitants. Rarity, the unicorn with the glistening white coat and purple mane was walking along side her friend Applejack. An Earth Pony with a dusty orange coat and blonde mane covered by a cowboy hat. The two couldn't look any further apart from each other in terms of outward appearance but they found much common ground in their friendship together. Since they'd both taken a break from their jobs the two decided to visit Twilight to see if she'd enjoy stepping out for lunch. Though this task was more difficult than it used to be when she lived in the library. 

"Think I've been in here a dozen times now and these halls still get me turned around." Applejack admitted through her unique accent. 

"I can agree with you, darling. But before long we'll know this place like the back of our hooves." Rarity comforted with confidence and a smile. "Even if we know where we're going though finding Twilight is the biggest challenge." 

"I reckon as to who might be able to help." Applejack replied and nodded to the small purple dragon in the distance who was walking with a tray of tea in his claws. "Howdy Spike!" 

"Applejack! And Rarity! Glad to see you two." Spike said with a relieved look. "Twilight could really use some support right now." Rarity was the first to respond hearing someone was in distress that she cared for.

"Oh my, I do hope the poor dear isn't in any sort of trouble." 

"Not... exactly. But she's got an assignment from Princess Celestia and it hasn't been going well. Come on, I'll show you." Spike guided the other two ponies through the corridors to lead to a familiar room. Upon opening the door the three witnessed Princess Twilight Sparkle at a drafting table she kept for special projects. On the right of the alicorn was a pile of neatly stacked blank papers ready to be drawn upon. To her left was a pile of crumpled papers that were over-flowing from the trash can she kept nearby. The small dragon walked in and set the tray on the table he'd used earlier for the various documents they'd collected. "Twilight, I brought your tea. Plus Applejack and Rarity came to visit." 

"Hm!?" Twilight asked, turning her head. "Oh, hey guys! How are you?" Her mane was a little frazzled and eyes wide, a sign when Twilight was tackling a project larger than she was able to handle. Rarity and Applejack shared a look that communicated to each other they both understood what was happening. Applejack took the lead this time. 

"Howdy Twi', we were planning to get some grub and thought we'd check in with you if you were hungry?" 

"Hungry? Nope. Nope nope nope, I'm stuck here till I'm done. I've just about got it this time." Rarity approached next, positioning herself next to Twilight to see just what she was so focused on.

"Pardon me darling, but I'd swear from looking at this drawing you're attempting to design a dress of some sort?" 

"Armor, actually. I'm trying to design an armor for my royal guard." That answer earned another confused look from both visiting ponies. Applejack chimed in with the obvious question.

"Last I checked ya'll didn't have a royal guard, Twi'." 

"I know, but Princess Celestia thinks it's important for me to have a uniform made up for them before I hire any... if I hire any." Twilight said trailing off a little. "To be honest I never thought I'd need something like that but I guess it does make sense." As Twilight was reluctantly coming to terms with her task, Spike finished pouring four cups of tea and passed them out among his friends. Rarity stopped to give Spike a small rub on his head when she was gifted her drink, the little dragon appreciating the affection. 

"Doesn't it sound cool though? Suits of armor lining the halls of the castle? Even if we don't have anyone to fill them out yet it'll make things look more royal." Applejack saw the excitement in the little dragon's eyes as he spoke and the concern in Twilight's. 

"Maybe that's the problem?" The farm pony offered. "Ah know you're not the most thrilled with making things all official and self-important." Twilight looked down and nodded a little in agreement. 

"This just feels so daunting. It's making me worried about the future and the present at the same time." 

"Well never fear!" Rarity suddenly exclaimed with confidence. "I may be a simple seamstress, but designing a suit of armor cannot be much different from designing a suit for business or travel. Leave it to Rarity to ease your woes."

"You mean it Rarity?" Twilight asked sounding hopeful. "I wouldn't be able to thank you enough." 

"Think nothing of it, darling. To get to design a suit of armor for royalty would be a dream come true! Think of the prestige such a thing could gain you. I'll get started right away! Spike, do you think you and Applejack could get us some lunch and bring it back to the castle? It would let me get things finished that much more quickly." 

"Sure thing." The purple dragon agreed, rare be it for him to disagree with anything Rarity suggested to him. His infatuation for the white unicorn apparent on his face. "Applejack, do you want to pick up some fast food together?"

"Alright, guess I can get a little bit of junk food this week. Them hay burgers are pretty good." The farmer decided, walking out of the library with the dragon. 

Over a half hour later the duo returned to the library inside the castle, having come across little incident on their way out and back. Both Twilight and Rarity were side by side at the drafting table now and seemed much more excited over their work than Twilight had been alone. "We're back." Applejack called out and the two other ponies turned around to meet them.

"What perfect timing, we just finished up ourselves." Spike was caught off guard over how quickly they'd wrapped up the dilemma in the time he'd been gone.

"Just like that? Wow Rarity, you really are amazing!" The white unicorn feigned embarrassment at the compliment, though she was eating up the words of praise.

"Well Twilight offered most of the direction, I just needed to get the quill to paper and together it was done in a hoof beat. Do you all want to see?" Rarity offered, though Spike was the only one on edge with anticipation. Both Applejack and Twilight had already begun to eat their meals due to the hunger that had set in since they met up earlier today. Using her magic, Rarity pulled the paper off the drafting table and floated it over to display before Spike and Applejack. The two took in what they were seeing, processing all the details. "Well? What do you think?" 

"It's... very detailed." Spike answered, looking over the drawing. Detailed wasn't the word for it though, the armor Rarity had drawn was an intricate piece of art that had her unbridled flare attached to it. Every inch of the drawn concept art seemed to be lined with a decoration or jewel to accent the piece. There was even a concept art of decorated armor to go over pegasus wings. The purple dragon had been reserved in his judgement but Applejack didn't share the same levels of restraint.

"There's doo-dads and trinkets all over this thing. Ah thought this was supposed to be armor? For soldiers?" The farm girl asked and Rarity kept an even tone about her at the criticism. 

"Just because they're defending the kingdom doesn't mean they can't be fabulous. Besides, it's mostly for show. I doubt anyone's ever going to actually attack Twilight's castle." 

"Except for all the trouble that's come through for Ponyville alone." Applejack said in disagreement, gobbling up some fries afterwards. 

"Well I like it." Rarity said finally. "As does Twilight, right darling?" 

"You bet!" The princess said happily, seeming to be relieved the whole ordeal was over. "When do you think we can make them up?" 

"Make them... Twilight, I can't MAKE armor." Rarity explained, much to Twilight's shock. "Designing something on paper is one thing but crafting armor? There's so much special equipment involved with melting metals and shaping them and fastening them together. I'm sorry darling but it's just too far outside of my abilities." 

"Oh. Well... I guess that makes sense. I couldn't very well ask your shop alone to mass produce armor for a royal guard, even if they don't exist yet. But now that leaves me with an idea that I can't make a reality just yet." Twilight said as she used her magic to take the paper from Rarity, looking over the design of the very intricate armor. Her friends wanted to comfort her but there were no words they could offer that was a solution to the problem. Until Spike thought of something. 

"Wait, why not just use the same place Celestia gets her armor made? You only need so many to start anyway, right?" 

"Spike, that's genius! Luna and Celestia both have their own royal guard, they have to get their armors made somewhere. I just need to look up where it is and pay them a visit." Twilight said cheerfully as her plan was coming together, flapping her wings to take the air and look over the different books. Her search didn't take long as she found the one she'd been after and pulled it from the shelf quickly with her magic. "Let's see... a history of armor. Hm hm... styles... ranks... types... ah ha! Forging." Twilight came to a landing now as she skimmed the pages, Rarity having joined Spike and Applejack in getting her fill of lunch while the moment was right. "It looks like there's a forge that's been around for generations now that belonged to an Ironhooves family."

"Sounds like a sturdy group of ponies." Applejack commented, being the kind of pony that puts a lot of faith in family tradition and quality. "Ya'll gonna head up that way?" 

"I think so! The sooner I can get this worked out the better." 

"Well count me in, I wouldn't mind seeing a real life forge where royal armor is made." Applejack said cheerfully. Rarity wasn't about to be left out though.

"I'm along for the ride too. I might not make armor but seeing another artist at work is always a delight." Twilight was more than happy for the company and agreed to both. It left one individual to make a decision. "What do you say Spiky-Wikey? Do you want to see the forge as well?" 

"Hm... I'll pass. Every time I ever went with Celestia on some kind of royal related work it always ended up being less than I expected. I'll hold down the fort here." 

"I appreciate you watching the castle for me." Twilight agreed. "Well then team, let's catch a train and get some royal armor made."

* * *

Twilight was pleasantly surprised to find that not only had the Ironhooves family forge been run by the same blacksmith family for generations but they were also still located in the same place as they had been in the past when her book was written. From the details she'd gathered they'd been providing the greater part of Canterlot and by extension Equestria with metal tools, utensils, furniture and of course armor and weapons. Being one of the few larger blacksmith operations in the kingdom allowed them to stay in business when needs would change and let them adapt to whatever products were in demand.

The train ride had been straight forward and didn't take much longer than a trip to Canterlot, the location of the forge outside the city limits but still near by. It explained how such a large operation had been around all this time but Twilight had never seen them. Today however she was going to get up close and personal. When the train stopped at the forge itself Twilight and her friends exited the train with a small group of workers. It seemed the tracks had been built to come here to allow easy shipment of the heavy contents to other parts of the kingdom. It probably didn't hurt that the very tracks the train was built on were likely supplied by the forge itself. 

Twilight, Rarity and Applejack followed the gruff looking ponies into the large building. She could tell by looking at it the structure was old in some parts and had been expanded in others. It seemed as if they'd built these buildings to last. Large metal doors acted as an exit and entrance for carriages loaded with various crates and pulled by strong ponies. However the princess entered with the rest of the regular work force through a small door to avoid getting in the path of the shipments going out and coming in. Once inside the girls marveled at the high ceilings with their various cat walks and work force manning heavy machinery. Large vats held hot melted iron and Twilight could feel the heat coming off them at a distance. 

"This is right more complicated and impressive than I figured it'd be." Applejack commented at all the ponies moving back and forth. "Who do we even ask about all a this?" 

"I don't know." Twilight said, feeling just as overwhelmed as her friend. "I don't think I really knew what we'd be in for when we got here. I was hoping there would be a help desk or... anything really." The building was clearly not designed for visitors. However Rarity spotted something that could prove useful.

"What about him, darling? He looks like a figure of authority." The unicorn pointed out a stallion that was near the line of carts moving back and forth. He was a unicorn that had a deep rust colored coat with a caramel mane. There was a clip board levitating near him and an orange hard hat on his head with a grey protective workman's coat over his body. The uniform matched that of the majority of the workers that were inside the building and above the group of mares. 

"Guess it can't hurt." Twilight said and approached with her friends following behind. As she got close Twilight waited to see if she'd be noticed but all the ponies were so focused on their jobs they didn't pay any of the visitors a glance. Good for productivity but bad for a visiting princess. Working up her nerve Twilight coughed loudly behind the stallion until he turned his head to look at her.

"Need something?" His voice was gruff but not rude, just impatient. Twilight gulped a little feeling as though she was intruding on something far more important than her silly little request. 

"Oh um... well, you see I need to... speak to someone... about having something made?"

"Uh huh." The stallion responded, unimpressed. "And you just walked into the forge thinking you could ask us to do it right off the bat?" Twilight resisted the desire to run out the door screaming from embarrassment but she held firm for the sake of her friends at least. 

"Well... yeah... you see I need some armor and... Phew, is it hot in here or is it just me?" Twilight asked trying to lighten the mood but the stallion didn't look amused. "Tough audience." The princess unfurled her wings to fan her face, feeling the pressure of the stallion's stare. Though when he saw her wings his eyes widened. 

"Oh my gosh, you're Princess Twilight!" Right then everything stopped. The cart pullers, the ponies working the hot metal vats, everyone. All the workers of the forge ceased their activities and bowed to Twilight, giving her more than the attention she'd been asking for. Spike had been right, being a princess did help get her what she wanted. Though this was a little overboard. 

"Yes! Yes I'm Princess Twilight. Thank you everyone, you don't need to bow now! It's okay, everybody back to work." Twilight said trying to sound relaxed but the suggestion to work seemed to fill the ponies with twice the determination they had before. Everyone's efforts doubling as if they'd been caught slacking on the job. "I'm still not used to all that." 

"Forgive me Princess, I had no idea it was you visiting our forge." The unicorn said, now sounding far more humble than his previous tone. Twilight hated making ponies uncomfortable like this.

"Don't worry, I don't need any special treatment or anything like that. My friends and I were visiting to see if we could get some armor made for my castle." Twilight explained, Applejack and Rarity approaching a little closer now as they'd been introduced. 

"Of course we can help with that, no need to put in an order form your Highness. I'll take you right to the blacksmith myself."

"Oh, you're not the pony in charge?" Twilight asked.

"Not at all, I'm just the head of shipping and handling for the various crates we send all over Equestria. You can call me Sturdy Package."

"I'll say." Rarity whispered to Applejack, who giggled as they were both looking the tall stallion over. Twilight gave them a glance to let them know she heard that comment too before turning to Sturdy again.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Sturdy. We'd love to meet the Blacksmith if he's available." 

"'She', actually, and I believe she's up in her office now. Allow me to lead the way." Handing off his clip board to a nearby pegasus the unicorn manager proceeded past the cart pullers and up one of the metal stairways. Once they were up on the catwalks it let the girls see just how large an operation this place was as there were vats of heated metal, conveyor belts of finished tools and equipment and molding stations where they were made. The whole thing was overwhelming as Twilight had rarely seen operations this large before. Perhaps only Cloudsdale's weather factories could rival it. As they traveled the heat lessened and soon they were upon a side of the building with various doors leading to rooms. Sturdy knocked on one with his hoof. "Boss! We have some royal visitors looking to make a request!" 

"Come in!" A female voice called back and Sturdy opened the door, allowing Twilight and the others to walk inside. Within was a female Earth Pony who was looking over some odd mechanical device on a table. Her coat was a steel grey and her mane was a platinum blonde color parted down the center of her head and flowing down nearly to her legs. On her flank was a cutie mark of a hammer and anvil as if to convey just want her talent was that allowed her to be in charge of this forge. There was little doubt she could handle such tools either, the Earth Pony standing just a bit larger than Applejack when it came to her visible strength. "Royal visitors you say?" 

"That's right Ms. Ironhooves, Princess Twilight herself has come with a request." Upon hearing that a princess was in her office, Ms. Ironhooves dropped the gear she'd been trying to set into the device before her and turned around to bow. Her blonde mane pooled on the floor in front of her. 

"Princess Twilight! Thank you for visiting my forge! How can we be of assistance?" Like most everyone that recognized a royal title she responded with humility, though Twilight didn't want to start their professional relationship off like that. 

"Just Twilight, Ms. Ironhooves. Twilight Sparkle if you like. We don't need the Princess title in there, just makes things more complicated." She rose her head to look at Twilight and saw her friends standing behind her as well. Taking a moment to gather herself together the Earth Pony stood tall again and let out an embarrassed cough for her over reaction. 

"Oh... okay then, Ms. Twilight Sparkle. You may call me Mecana if you like. Mecana Ironhooves." 

"That's a unique name for a pony." Rarity said with genuine interest. The blacksmith looked as if she'd heard that a dozen times before and accepted the statement as a compliment.

"Thank you, my mother gave it to me. How may we help you today your highness?" Twilight hesitated, this entire thing had been new for her and she'd reached the top person at this facility faster than she anticipated. Sturdy Package noticed her uncertainty and stepped in to assist. 

"She would like to request a set of armor be made, Ms. Ironhooves." At the statement the Earth Pony's eyes lit up with excitement, not unlike Rarity's often did when you presented her with an idea for a new dress.

"Oh, new armor? As in brand new, never made before armor?" She asked and Twilight nodded. The blacksmith grinning eagerly. "This is a once in a life time opportunity! A blacksmith wishes for the chance to make the armor that a princess will use inside her castle! I'd love to help you Ms. Sparkle." Twilight was delighted this was going so well.

"That's great to hear! But uh, are you busy with something else at the moment?" Twilight asked as she motioned to the contraption on the table in Mecana's office. The Earth Pony looked at her previous work and shook her head. 

"No no, that's a custom piece I've been asked to repair but there's no time limit on it. I'll have it done soon enough, we just need to see what parts are broken and make new ones." Twilight was fascinated by the contraption and approached it to look it over further.

"It looks like some kind of engine?" 

"That it is! Two unicorns hired me to get it working again. I didn't design it but I think I can make it stronger after they shared their blueprints. Clever pair, even if I'm not sure what they're going to use it for." The sound of all this seemed familiar to Applejack and she furrowed her brow. 

"I hope ya got paid in advance if it's who I think it is." Her objection was noted but Twilight was eager to move on with the proceedings. 

"Well it sounds like we're talking to the perfect pony for the job. Rarity, is it okay if we share your design with Ms. Ironhooves?"

"It would be my pleasure, darling." Rarity responded and walked up near the pair, pulling out her sketches from a saddlebag she'd brought along with her. She tried to hand the papers to Mecana directly but the Earth Pony shied away from the magically encased documents. That was when Sturdy decided to step in. 

"Ms. Rarity was it?" 

"Indeed! Charmed to meet you." Rarity said in a flirtatious manner that seemed to catch the stallion off guard.

"Uh, hi. You can just set the papers on the boss's desk if you like." Sturdy motioned to the desk near by and Rarity complied, unrolling the papers and setting them out for Mecana to review. Once they were no longer in a magical grip the Earth Pony's body seemed to relax a little and she approached them eagerly. 

"Okay, let's see what we have to work with." Mecana said as she looked the design over. "Oh. Oh my, this is... very... detailed." The tone of her voice was concerned but Rarity didn't seem bothered in the least. 

"Thank you, deary. I do my best to throw myself into my work." Mecana didn't look up, instead moving to the next document for a side view of what they'd designed back in Twilight's castle. 

"These are a lot of gems. I mean... these are a LOT of gems." Sturdy came around the desk as well to see what his boss was describing and didn't have a positive view on the pictures before him either.

"Presentation is important, I always say." Rarity declared with pride but Twilight wasn't looking as confident, reading the expression on the face of the two metal workers before her. She decided to intervene before they kept throwing comments at each other that was beating around the bush. 

"You don't like it?" The princess asked and Mecana held her tongue instead of answering right away. "It's okay if you don't, I've never designed armor before and it was just ideas I was throwing out with Rarity's help. She's a dress maker and I thought we might be able to put something together. 

"Oh, you make dresses?" Mecana asked with curiosity. "That sounds nice, I never usually get to make anything that pretty." Rarity was ready with a response to that.

"Maybe you can now with this 'once in a lifetime' opportunity we're giving you." The seamstress offered and that made Mecana uncomfortable again. 

"Well... if you want me to Princess Twilight, I can make this armor for you..." Twilight could sense there was more to that sentence.

"But?" She asked waiting for Mecana to continue.

"But I'm worried it might not be very structurally sound as armor. It would look pretty but I'm not sure how strong it will be." Mecana explained to them. It made sense to Twilight and Applejack as they didn't know the first thing about making armor. Rarity however felt a little disappointment seeing her idea shot down.

"Well it was just a first draft." Rarity explained, looking aside from everyone. Sturdy Package spoke up soon after to try and ease the tension. 

"Well you see Ms. Rarity, making armor is a little different than making a dress. There's a lot you have to consider when putting together the pieces, making them move comfortably and being able to defend a pony in a fight." After his explanation Rarity seemed comforted a little but not completely. Twilight decided to take over before things went further between her and Mecana. 

"Ms. Ironhooves, I'll put my trust in you. Do you think you could make an armor that will represent my kingdom?" Mecana looked at the document before her again and then at Sturdy next to her. Her assistant nodded his head confidently and Mecana smiled, nodding back to Twilight. 

"I'll do my best to make an armor for you that lives up to your expectations. And follow your suggestions as closely as I can." 

"Then it's settled." Twilight said and offered her hoof to shake it with her new friend. Mecana was clearly not ready for something so informal from a princess but the Earth Pony put her hoof up as well and the two shook in agreement. Rolling the documents back up Mecana offered them to Rarity who placed them gingerly into her saddle bag, still a bit shaken that her designs had been met with rejection. From there Sturdy Package lead the trio back outside of the forge and waited with them until the next train arrived to take them home. He'd advised the princess that they would need a day before their project was finished, knowing that Ms. Ironhooves was eager to get started. After informing him where they could bring the armor when she was done they ponies were back on their way to Ponyville.

* * *

A whole day later Applejack was walking back into the castle, however she was alone this time. The Earth Pony had tried to meet up with Rarity so that they could see Twilight's new armor together but for some reason the seamstress had already left her home for the day. Unaware of where she might have gone the farmer decided to head in herself as she wanted to get a good look at what that blacksmith had come up with. Designing things like armor and dresses and decorations was never Applejack's strong suit so she tried to appreciate things as they appeared to her. Truth be told she'd agreed with Mecana back at the forge that Rarity and Twilight's drawing was a bit busy for her taste. She hoped whatever they came up with instead made everyone happy. 

While the armor hadn't seemed to arrive yet a different mystery was solved for Applejack as she found Rarity already with Twilight in the throne room. Unlike most royal throne rooms that acted as a hallway leading to a seat for the ruler to listen from, this room was more of a conference chamber. Six chairs (and a seventh smaller one) were all grouped together to face each other in a circle and allow for face to face conversation as a group. You might not know it from looking at her, but Applejack was the owner of one of these thrones. Along with the three other girls that currently stood in the center of the seats. 

"Applejack, where you been?" An energetic voice called out from a rainbow haired pegasus. However with what she was wearing there wasn't any sign of her rainbow mane to be seen. 

"Heya Rainbow Dash, I just stopped by Rarity's to see if she wanted to come with me. Looks like I'm the one late to the party though." The farmer said looking at her friend curiously. "What's with that get up ya got in?" 

"Isn't it splendid!?" Rarity asked in excitement, interjecting into the conversation. That might not be the word Applejack would have used but it did make you stop in your tracks. Rainbow Dash was currently wearing a set of armor that was about the most decorated thing Applejack had ever laid eyes on. It was made of golden plates of metal with silver lining in between and various colored jewels were laid in patterns all along the armor. Her helmet had what looked like a fake, crystal unicorn horn and even Rainbow Dash's wings were lined with small plates of metal that laid over the bone and muscle where the feathers protruded from. "Twilight and I found a way to make it ourselves." 

"Sort of." Twilight answered, levitating a book with her magic. "I found a spell that creates armor using magic. It took some work but eventually we were able to do it so we could design the armor however we wanted it to look."

"Come now darling, you did a marvelous job. Taking a spell and changing it to your own ends. I couldn't have achieved a feat like that in a million years, even if it were just for normal clothing." Rarity seemed thrilled at their creation, Rainbow Dash looking mighty proud as well to show off the armor she was wearing. It seemed gaudy to Applejack but she had to admit it made the pegasus look imposing and powerful. 

"I guess, but I wish I'd had more time to read up on it first. We only mastered the spell and then immediately tried to re-design it. I didn't have a chance to read the rest of the chapters before we got to work." As if by impulse Twilight opened the book and began reading it while talking. Despite Twilight's concern the other two mares didn't seem to share it. Something had occurred to Applejack with all of this. 

"So ya'll went and made yer own set of armor, when you got them fellas over at the forge getting ready to bring you a new set of armor?" Rainbow Dash looked confused by the question but Twilight and Rarity both glanced away as if they understood the implications of what was being asked. Rarity was the first to speak up.

"Well it was just for fun after all. A little spell to see if we could put it together ourselves." Applejack didn't feel convinced by Rarity's answer.

"And it has nothing to do with them rejecting your design when you offered it to them?" The farmer asked and this time Twilight responded.

"I know it seems like we're stepping on their horseshoes, but it was really just to see if we could do it. I don't have any intention of rejecting what Ms. Ironhooves delivers me just because I figured out how to make my own." Applejack still didn't feel like this was right, though Rainbow Dash decided she was done being left out of this conversation.

"Wait a minute, you guys went to get armor made yesterday? That sounds so cool! Are they delivering it today?"

"They sure are." Twilight answered happily. "The blacksmith said she couldn't wait to get started on it and was looking to deliver it as soon as possible."

"Awesome, I want to wear that one too. After all only the best of us should put it to the test." Rainbow said and strutted out of the throne room proudly. Applejack rolled her eyes but found the display pretty humorous. The other girls followed along as well before hearing a chime ring through the castle. "What was that?" 

"That's the doorbell. It sounds like they're here!" Twilight said and disappeared in a flash of magic. 

"The castle has a doorbell now? I've never heard of something like that before." Rainbow Dash asked the other two in confusion. Rarity was first to consider the alternatives.

"Well if she doesn't have guards or servants to answer it when people arrive it makes sense. Spike can't be everywhere after all. Besides, Twilight was never the kind for formality in the first place."

"I'll say. Shall we meet them half way?" Applejack asked and the others agreed, proceeding back towards the entrance of the castle. As they went though Applejack kept noticing Rainbow Dash fidgeting with her new outfit. "You doing okay there RD?"

"Yeah, this armor just kind of slides around a bit." The pegasus complained, adjusting her helmet. Another interesting things Applejack noted was Rainbow was walking next to her. Usually the pony flew anywhere and everywhere when she had the chance. She didn't push the issue though, just letting things be what they were. Soon after they began to hear the sound of other ponies talking and it wasn't long before they came into eye sight. Mecana was walking next to Twilight as she showed her the castle, the other pony, Sturdy Package, pulling a cart behind him and with a large crate on top of it as he followed. It was obvious the armor must have been inside for safe travel. As they got closer the girls greeted them.

"Howdy there folks. Good to see you again, hope you've enjoyed Ponyville." Applejack said with a friendly smile. 

"Hello Ms. Applejack. Ms. Rarity." Mecana returned the greeting pleasantly. "And I don't believe we've met miss..."

"Rainbow Dash, good to meet you! So you're the pony that's going to make Twilight's new armor, huh?" The pegasus asked eagerly but she didn't get an answer to her question. Instead the Earth Pony was soon very close to her, looking over the armor she was wearing. "Oh uh... hi there." Rainbow Dash said but her greeting was also ignored as Mecana began to circle the pegasus and observe her. "Um... not much for words, are you?" 

"Where did you get this armor?" Mecana asked, the tone in her voice much less jovial this time around. Twilight and Rarity exchanged nervous glances before Rainbow Dash finally answered.

"Twilight cooked it up for me. She wanted to see if she could put some royal armor together herself." 

"I see." Mecana said and suddenly turned her attention on Twilight Sparkle. Walking over to her now, Mecana took a deep breath before speaking again. "So... you couldn't wait for me to finish?" 

"No no, it's not like that at all." Twilight protested. "I was just seeing if I could do it for fun." 

"For fun? For fun." Mecana closed her eyes as if she were holding something back. "Some of us don't make armor for 'fun', your highness. For some of us this is all we do. This is what we pour our hearts and souls into. We put ourselves into each piece we make." 

"I... I didn't mean to..." Twilight tried to reply but she was so caught off guard by the blacksmith's anger that she didn't know what to say. No one did, everyone simply watched in silence. 

"I cannot abide by this even if you are royalty. A challenge! This is a challenge! I demand my armor be tested against yours. Winner will be the one that shall represent your kingdom's royal guard."

"Ms. Ironhooves, please reconsider. I've already decided that I wanted to go with what you made for me." She was trying to diffuse the situation but it was too late, Mecana was set on her path much like the hard metal she worked with.

"We'll need representatives. Sturdy, you'll be my unicorn representative. I'll need an Earth Pony too that isn't myself, as well as a pegasus." She turned to Twilight and Applejack. "In front of your castle. We'll settle this in three matches of your armor versus mine. Please find me a pegasus and an Earth Pony to help. I'll see you then." With that Mecana proceeded out of the castle back towards the entrance, leaving the girls completely shocked at the sudden turn in events. Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence as she was the most out of the loop.

"What the heck was that about!? Is that girl crazy or what?" The pegasus asked with distaste, but the other girls didn't look near as upset. Rarity sighed heavily.

"I didn't think I'd offend her this way." The seamstress said with regret. 

"Your highness?" Sturdy Package spoke up, having not exited the scene alongside his boss. "If I may, you have to understand something about Ms. Ironhooves. She usually throws herself into her work completely and doesn't spend a lot of time out with other ponies. So she can be a little... clumsy sometimes with others." 

"That ain't the word for it." Rainbow Dash said, still bothered by the whole thing. Though to quiet her Applejack gave Rainbow Dash's helmet a nudge and it fell forward over her eyes. "Hey!"

"Also when she came here and saw you made your own armor right after hiring her to make another she saw it as an insult to her skills and family name. To a blacksmith you may as well have challenged her to a duel. I'm afraid she's not going to let this go without pitting your armor against hers." Sturdy concluded, allowing Twilight a moment to consider all of this. She nodded her head in agreement.

"Very well, this is my fault after all. If it will make things right by taking part in these challenges, so be it." Sturdy was happy she agreed to follow through with this and turned to follow after his boss, pulling the cart along with him. "I'm worried... I hope this will be a fair. Our armor is magic." 

"Oh it won't be." Sturdy replied as he took his exit, leaving the girls to ponder just what he meant by that.

* * *

Later that day the ponies had gathered in the grassy fields near Twilight's castle for the set of challenges that Mecana Ironhooves had prepared for them. Twilight didn't really know what to expect but was prepared to go through with whatever it was considering she'd caused this mess in the first place. If only she'd gotten rid of that dumb armor before the blacksmith arrived then this never would have happened. But as she'd learned before changing the past was often more trouble than dealing with the present. So here they were. 

With some assistance from Applejack everything had been set up. A few basic items were borrowed from the Apple Family farm to assist with the competition. At the moment there was a batch of hay bales all lined up in a row going down a straight path. The bales were set only about two ponies high and had gracious space between them. Once she was satisfied with the set up Mecana approached Twilight Sparkle. "Are you prepared for the first challenge?" The blacksmith asked. 

"As ready as I'll ever be." Twilight answered, not ready at all for any of this. "So what is it I have to do?" 

"You won't do anything, your representative will." Mecana answered, pointing at Rainbow Dash. "This is going to be a race between your armored warrior and mine." At that her representative approached timidly, looking about uncertainly. 

"I... I don't think this is a good idea." The butter yellow pegasus spoke quietly. "I just met you, I don't want to lose something this important for you." 

"Fluttershy was your name?" The pegasus nodded to Mecana's question. "Don't worry about a thing, just do your best please. That's all I ask." 

"You won't get mad?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"I promise." Mecana responded and that made the pegasus feel a little better about this. At least Mecana was doing well with Twilight's other friends, even if their relationship was currently rocky. As the two ponies lined up for the race the contrast in their armors was apparent as night and day. Rainbow Dash's jewel laden golden armor shined brightly in the sun and seemed to reflect a rainbow of colors much like her mane hidden under her armor. 

Fluttershy's uniform was much different. The color of her armor was a violet that was similar to a sky a dusk, with black straps and cloth to bind it against Fluttershy's body. Her helmet didn't have the fancy mock-horn that Rainbow Dash wore or the decorative stripe like Celestia's knights. Instead she had a single white jewel in place where a unicorn horn would have been. The front of her armor was decorated with a crystal that was cut in the shape of Twilight's cutie mark to represent it as her soldier. While the dark colors didn't quite compliment Fluttershy's coat it certainly was a solid looking uniform. 

"Are we really doing this?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight who nodded confidently. "Great... I just met this pony and now I gotta humiliate her." 

"Don't be worried Rainbow Dash, she seems nice." Fluttershy said to comfort her friend. Though it did little to ease Rainbow's concerns. She was the fastest flier in her town, maybe even in the world. And she was up against Fluttershy, a pegasus who would rather walk than fly when given the option. The odds seemed stacked in one pony's favor.

"Ready!" Twilight declared and the two ponies took their positions. "START!" At the sound of the word the two pegasus were off the ground, but it was clear who had the advantage. Rainbow Dash flew ahead of Fluttershy in seconds while the other mare did her best to keep up. 

"I knew this would happen." Rainbow mumbled to herself, but she wasn't about to quit. Twilight had made it clear that this competition was important to the blacksmith so Rainbow Dash was going to treat it seriously. When the first hay bale stack came up Rainbow Dash titled her body to maneuver around it. Then veered off course nearly into a tree. "Whaaaaaaaaaa!" Spinning her body all the way around the blue coated pegasus tried to straighten herself onto the track again, flying to the next hay bale and looking to maneuver around it. The act though sent her careening towards the ground where she had to catch herself on her hooves. "What the heck is going on here!" 

"Pardon." Fluttershy said as she flew gently past Rainbow Dash, maneuvering around the hay bales carefully. The blue pegasus couldn't believe what was happening and flapped her wings to get off the ground, though found it very difficult to do so. That's when she realized something. 

"It's these metal things!" She cried out in annoyance, looking back at the metal decorative pieces that lined down her wings. "They're messing up my ability to fly." Raising her wing she reached back with her hoof to pull the armor off before she heard a shout back from the starting line. 

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled. "If you take any of that armor off you'll forfeit the match!" The pegasus hesitated and stopped herself. Grumbling she took to the air again. Fluttershy had a strong lead on her now and being able to make up for it was going to be difficult. Still all she had to do was tilt at the bare minimum. If she did that she could still win. So flying as fast as she could Rainbow Dash managed to dodge the next stack of hay just barely. Then another. Only one more to go and she was about to over take the yellow pony. Looking to sweep past her without colliding with her or the hay Rainbow took a hard turn... and ended up flying directly into the stack of hay. It fell over in a heap while Fluttershy slowly crossed over the finish line. She looked around herself in surprise. 

"Did I win?" The yellow pony asked and Rainbow Dash finally managed to yank her head out of the bale of hay, pulling her helmet out after her. 

"Well that was embarrassing." Rainbow Dash complained out loud to a shocked group of observers. She'd just lost a race to Fluttershy and no one could believe it, aside from the blacksmith and her assistant that is. 

A little later and another magic armor spell later, Applejack was clothed now in the bright metal that had previously belonged only to Rainbow Dash. While their armors were nearly identical Applejack didn't have the wings to fill out the small metal pieces meant to go over them. There wasn't enough time for Twilight to figure out how to make an armor spell without the wings so she used another to lock them into place, sticking out at Applejack's sides as a pair of fakes. It was pretty in a decorative way but served little purpose otherwise.

Nearby was the other pony that had come to join the group after being summoned. Pinkie Pie was hopping about in a set of armor that nearly matched Fluttershy's perfectly with the exception of the wing holes being covered by a different set of metal plating than the previous. She seemed to have grown fond of it, and Mecana by extension. "Wow this armor of yours is pretty. Say you make metal stuff right? Can you make all kinds of metal stuff? Could you make a metal cake? I can make a cake with metal in it but it's not good even though everyone says you need iron in your diet and they always want me to eat healthier so I was like why don't we put more healthy stuff in cakes so then I can be healthy and eat my cake too but then they said-"

"What do I do?" Mecana asked nervously as Pinkie Pie unloaded questions and comments at her while walking circles around the Earth Pony. Sensing her discomfort Applejack whistled at Pinkie.

"Looks like we're ready to start here, Pinkie." 

"Oh... OKAY!" Pinkie Pie said and bounced (actually bounced, like she was made of rubber) to the starting position. Taking a breath Mecana collected herself and walked over to the two new contestants. 

"This next competition will be a jousting match, against your assigned targets." Down the field from the Earth Ponies was a bale of hay with a bucket sitting on top. Each of the two Earth Ponies picked up the brooms that had been brought for them to square off against their opponents. "All you have to do is hit the target with enough force to knock it off the hay. The one that hits it farther wins." 

"Piece a cake." Applejack said to herself, picking up the broom in her mouth. She might not have been the fastest pony but she was sure stronger than Pinkie. The other Earth Pony picked her broom up as well, spinning it about herself in a display that was completely unnecessary but still kind of impressive.

"Piece of pie." She declared and tossed the broom in the air, catching it in her teeth. Twilight flew up next to the girls and raised her front leg, dropping it to signal the beginning of the contest. With that the two ponies were off in full charge. 

Even though Pinkie was the faster of the two she kept an even pace with Applejack, maybe due to the armor she was wearing. It didn't matter to AJ, she had her mark in her sights and was going to send it flying. Until suddenly it wasn't in her sights anymore. "What in the flying hay is going on!?" The orange Earth Pony called out through the wood in her teeth, her helmet having dropped over her eyes to blind her. It was the mock unicorn horn on the helmet! The running caused it to swing like an extra weight on the end and pull down onto her snout. She could stop running and readjust her helmet but that would probably be a forfeit. Instead she just kept going and swung her broom where she though the bucket was. She felt it connect with something and came to a screeching halt in the grass. "Ha! I still gave that bucket a lesson!" 

"Well you gave something a lesson..." Pinkie started as she pointed back to Applejack's bucket, which was still near where it had started. "But I don't think it was what you intended." Pointing forward Pinkie showed that her own target had been hit and sent flying out into the field. Next to it was the hay bale that Applejack's target had been sitting on. Sent flying by the Earth Pony's powerful strike and leaving her with a broken broom at her hooves on the grass. "If it makes you feel better, that's way more impressive than what I did."

With two matches down Twilight was ready to give in, but Mecana wouldn't have it and Twilight wasn't about to go against whatever battle of honor this was for the blacksmith. Instead they now found Sturdy Package wearing the set of armor he had helped create. The difference this time being that the spot where the gem had previously been placed on the other helmets was now open for his horn to stick through. Twilight had made a similar alteration for Rarity when she created the armor on her friend, though those wings decorations were still locked in place. Thankfully they hadn't done much to hinder Applejack so she didn't think it would be a problem for Rarity either.

"I am so sorry I caused such a mess for you." Rarity said in a low voice to Sturdy while they were waiting for Mecana to get ready for this competition. "I never thought making something like armor of my own would offend her so much." Sturdy nodded his head to her and thought over what she said for a moment before replying.

"Well... Ms. Rarity, you said you're a dress maker, correct?" 

"That's right, deary."

"I see. Well, can I ask if someone asked you to make them a dress and you put everything you had into sewing it, would you feel upset the next day if that person had bought a dress from somebody else? Despite telling you that they needed your help because they thought you were the one to trust more than anyone else?"

"I... I suppose I never thought of it that way." She said, sounding remorseful in her words. "I truly never meant to offend." 

"I understand Ms. Rarity, really I do. I don't think you're a mean pony. It's just the boss..." Sturdy trailed off looking over to the Earth Pony talking to Princess Twilight. "She takes her creations very seriously. This isn't just proving the armor to Princess Twilight, she's proving her own skill and value as a pony. Maybe it's hard for her to communicate that out loud with words, but please don't think badly of her over this. It's just important to her, as an Ironhooves."

"I see... so this is her art." Rarity said.

"Yeah, I guess I'm not good with words either. You summed it up in one sentence." Sturdy said with an embarrassed laugh. The moment was short lived as Twilight approached the two ponies, dropping two new brooms at their hooves with her magic.

"Ahem, thank you for waiting. This will be the final challenge. I'm going to direct you in using your 'spears' in military formation. All you have to do is follow along." Twilight instructed, the two unicorns picking up their brooms with their magic. While this was something Twilight had never done before she'd watched her brother do it dozens of times in the past and could provide simple direction. "Alright then, let's begin!" Twilight lifted the broom to an upright position, the two unicorns following suit.

After that Twilight began with directions for their actions, showing them when and where to thrust and slash with their spears. Despite having no experience everyone seemed to be doing well, both Rarity and Sturdy Package following along without difficulty. She'd even tried to get them to do a few more complicated moves with their hooves, everyone able to keep the pace. Things seemed evenly matched until Twilight ordered them to spin their spears to their sides. That was when it went down hill. 

"Oof!" Rarity exclaimed as the broom smacked her fake wings protruding from her sides. "Ah... heh heh, sorry darling. Maybe I can..." She tried to do the spin again but wasn't able to get around the decorations sticking out of her saddle. The only way Rarity managed to follow the direction was to extend the broom as far away from herself as she could spinning it and carefully returning it to her side. "There! All good, we can continue." 

"No, we can't. That's it." Twilight said, though she looked happy. "I've seen enough, in every competition we've had it's become clear who won. Wouldn't you say so Ms. Ironhooves?"

"I'm glad you think so your highness." Mecana approached Twilight now that the competition was declared over. Rarity seemed relieved and let the broom fall on the grass, growing tired of trying to spin it around in formation with the pony next to her. "However there is one more contest we have left. Would it be alright if your friends all lined up for me?" 

"Oh. Uh, sure! I'll just gather everyone together real quick." Twilight agreed, not really sure where this was going but happy that Mecana seemed less upset than she had when she first arrived at her castle. Shortly after all of Elements of Harmony, save Twilight herself, were lined together in a row on the grass. Including Sturdy Package who was taking Twilight's place to fill out a row of six. As they waited Mecana gathered up her saddle bags from the cart she and Sturdy had brought and threw it over her back. Walking over to the ladies and gentelcolt, she cleared her throat to explain what came next.

"Thank you everyone for helping me today by testing out my newest design. This allowed me to be sure that the armor I created for Princess Twilight Sparkle was functional, swift and fit correctly to allow all of you to perform the needed tasks of a solider. But there is one very important task an armor is required to perform above all else; defense. So for this next test I'll need a special tool." Reaching into her saddle bag Mecana sifted around a bit with her mouth before pulling out a heavy looking hammer. The girls all recoiled in terror before the blacksmith put the tool down on the ground. "Sorry, not that one." Reaching back in she pulled out the tool she'd actually been after, a tuning fork. 

"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked, sounding disappointed it wasn't as terrifying as the previous one. "What's that supposed to do, help us sing a song?" Rainbow Dash laughed a little over her own joke and Mecana dropped the tuning fork into her own hoof. Stepping forward she tapped the tool against Rainbow's armor, making it hum with a low sound. Everyone was quiet as they watched the vibrating tool until Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack began to notice something odd. "Say, does anyone else feel like they're shaking?" 

"Weird." Applejack said in confirmation. 

"It's almost like my armor is-" Rarity didn't get a chance to finish as her armor shattered into tiny bits onto the grass. The girls looked on amazed that their spectacular golden magic armor was so easily reduced to dust in a matter of seconds. Everyone looked at each other in confusion and Twilight ran over quickly to see the result of Mecana's actions.

"Oh my gosh, how did you do that!?" Twilight asked with fascination, not at all bothered that her armor had been destroyed so easily. Mecana ceased the humming of the tuning fork by pressing it against the earth and then dropped it back into her bag along with her hammer. 

"Magical armor is weak against iron. Even if it's just the sound produced from it, it's enough to work as an attack against the armor. An iron spear or sword can pierce it without difficulty." The blacksmith explained and Twilight let the information sink in for a moment while she processed the sudden attack on her creations.

"But wait... if you knew that from the beginning why didn't you just explain it to me?" 

"Because I... was hurt." Mecana admitted, looking down at the ground. "I really wanted to impress you, your highness. But then I saw you created something else without me so soon after asking me to make this armor for you. I didn't know how to feel about that, so I got angry." She closed her eyes and sighed deep. "I'm sorry for acting this way. It was immature and I understand if you don't actually want my armor anymore. I can try to find you another blacksmith who-" 

"Mecana." Twilight extended a hoof onto her shoulder and the blacksmith looked up at the princess. "It's fine, really. I'm sorry as well that I didn't consider your feelings when you showed up today. You put all that work into making something special for me and I didn't show you my appreciation the way I should." Twilight's smile was enough to earn a smile from Mecana as well. "Friends?"

"Friends? Really? With me?" Mecana asked hesitantly and the princess nodded, motioning to the other ponies around them. 

"Maybe we got off on the wrong hoof, but I don't think anyone here dislikes you. And I can tell you from personal experience that these girls are some of the best friends you could have." 

"Well, if that's how you all feel then... Yes! I'll gladly be friends with all of you." Mecana said happily and the other girls cheered in response, all crowding together. Including the stallion Sturdy who even if he hadn't been part of the emotional confession was being comforted by the presence of Applejack and Rarity near him. Pinkie declared this was a good reason for a party and Twilight agreed, thinking she was eager to show off what her new sets of armor for her future royal guard will look like with any curious residents of the town. As everyone chattered over today's unusual but interesting events Mecana was eventually approached by Rarity as well. 

"Ms. Ironhooves, would it be alright if I had a moment?" The unicorn asked carefully.

"Of course, what is it?" 

"Well you see, this is really all my fault. I was the one that pushed Twilight to try and create that armor out of a desire to see my work come to life. So I wanted to apologize to you." The Earth Pony shook her head, her blonde main swaying as she did.

"You don't have to worry at all Rarity, everything worked out in the end. I know I got a little upset before but I wouldn't hold a grudge over something like this." 

"Oh, that's just marvelous. Because I was thinking since you're in town and we have the time maybe you could stop by my boutique. It would be a privilege to get you fitted for a dress, one of my own creations. I'd love the opportunity to wow you with my own art." 

"Really!? I'd love that. You don't know how hard it is for a pony like me to find a nice dress that fits. Most places don't carry a size for mares that can carry large chunks of metal."

"Believe me darling, I'll see you leaving here looking fabulous." The two girls chatted it up for a bit longer, Twilight watching from a distance while the others continued to look over the impressive armors that Mecana had made. Sturdy Package approached Twilight in that moment. 

"Your highness, I'd like to thank you again for going along with all of this. I know it all seemed a bit excessive." 

"Well if it helped us all be friends then I'm glad to do it. Friendship is magic, after all."

"Wow, that's a good slogan. The kind of thing that would go good as an engraving on the armor. I'll have to consider it when we make more suits for you." 

"Well you don't have to rush yourselves. I only have one other person living in the castle with me right now and none of these are going to fit him any time soon." Twilight said with a grin. "In fact, there he is now." Motioning with her hoof Twilight pointed at the small dragon exiting the castle and walking their way. "Looks like he's headed right for Rarity, big surprise. I hope he'll get along with Ms. Ironhooves." As if to test the idea the little dragon made a direct line of travel for Rarity's position, waving to both her and the blacksmith as he approached. 

"Hey guys, I was watching your contests from the balcony on the castle. That was some cool stuff back there, I love the way those armors look. Can't wait to have them lining the castle hallways!" Spike rattled off excitedly, Rarity smiling with amusement at his energy. "You're the blacksmith, right?" Rarity realized Spike had actually gone all this time without meeting her and moved in for introductions.

"Oh, where are my manners? Spike, this is Ms. Mecana Ironhooves. Ms. Ironhooves, this adorable little dragon here is Spike." 

"Do you have to introduce me that way?" Spike asked, feeling embarrassed but still appreciating Rarity's compliments of him. "Hi there, I'm Spike. It's nice to meet you." The dragon offered one clawed hand but was surprised to see the Earth Pony was staring intently at him. "Uh... hello?" 

"So cute." Mecana muttered. 

"Pardon?" Spike asked.

"Oh! Uh, um, I meant to say... hello?" She said after fumbling that introduction. "Wow, I've never met a dragon before. This is amazing. Can you breath fire?" Putting his hands on his hips and smirking, Spike turned his head and spewed a stream of green flame into the sky. Mecana reeled back onto her back legs and covered her mouth in excitement at the display. 

"That was so neat! I can't believe I'm meeting a real life dragon. Wow, your eyes are really amazing to look at. What do you eat?" The Earth Pony asked excitedly, leaving both Rarity and Spike startled by her sudden interest. From a distant Twilight Sparkle smiled happily. It looked like they'd all made new friends today.


	2. Personal Assistant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mecana Ironhooves inspects her forge on a cold winter night when she suspects someone's been sneaking in. Resulting in an encounter with a creature she never expected to see.

Mecana and her family were known for their skill at being blacksmiths. To take metal and shape it into a variety of tools, parts and decorations. It was the pride of the Ironhooves family to have kept their reputation as the most reliable and largest blacksmith operation in Canterlot. However Mecana's personal pride wasn't just in her family's traditional skills but in her hobby as well. She liked to tinker with all sorts of devices. If it was mechanical she wanted to know what made it work and how to take it apart and put it together again. This even lead her to help not just create a few mechanical devices of her own but improve or strengthen any she'd come across before. Unfortunately Earth Pony hooves and teeth were not always the most adequate when it came to careful assembly.

Mecana had been working on a sewing machine for her friend Rarity for some time now after she'd finish work for the day. Coming home she'd use some of her free time to assemble the larger and more powerful machine for Rarity to be able to sew through stronger fabrics than what her current machine allowed for. Rarity had even gone as far as to pay Mecana in advance for the parts and the labor. Despite giving her friend a discount on her normal rate the fact she put so much faith in her skills made her want to not only build the machine perfectly but get it done as soon as possible. However now that she had all of the parts created putting them together was proving to be a challenge. One that would had been easier if she hadn't left her tools back in her office on her desk at the forge. 

"This is hopeless." Mecana said with a sigh as she put down the metal bar she'd been holding between her hooves. There were so many intricate parts that had to be assembled just right that there was no way she could do this without some tools to handle them carefully for her. She had tweezers, grips and other tools meant to allow her to work with fine and small items. Without them she'd never be able to finish. Looking down at the sheet of paper she was using to guide her along on putting the sewing machine together she resigned herself to her only option. "Guess I can't stay indoors like I wanted to tonight. Better get back to the office before it gets too late."

Getting her saddle bag on Mecana stepped outside her home and locked the door behind her. She could have waited for the train but Mecana wanted to get this over with as fast as possible and it was a nice night for a walk. Trotting at a quick pace it wasn't long until she made her way out of town and down the road to where she could see the forge in the distance where her and many other ponies worked every day. There were two large doors at the front to allow carts to carry in raw materials and remove large collections of the products they made. Thankfully she wouldn't have to bother with the great big metal doors as she went around the side of the building and used an employee entrance to get in. 

Even with the forge closed the inside of the building was still warm from the heat of the chemicals they used to melt the raw materials and furnaces that were lit previously in the day. Thankfully Mecana was more than used to the heat so it didn't bother her in the slightest as she climbed the metal stairs that lead to a catwalk to take her to her office. The only thing that did bother her was how quiet the forge was at night. Without all the workers moving around metal and machinery the large chamber was eerily silent aside from the very light tapping of her hooves as she walked. Getting to her office Mecana unlocked the door and proceeded inside to find her tools still on her desk. 

"There you are my pretty little assistants." Mecana said happily as she collected her personal tools into her saddle bag. She usually kept them here when she had to work on a private commission and it wasn't often she took her work home with her like she did tonight. After all it would be even worse forgetting them at home and having to leave on the clock to collect them again. As Mecana put her tools away safely she started to notice that the forge wasn't as quiet as she originally suspected. Somewhere there was a sound echoing in the distance. 

Slowly sticking her head out the door of her office Mecana could hear what sounded like crunching. As if someone was grinding something to pieces somewhere in the forge. She didn't know what it could be but she also knew she couldn't leave it alone. If something was breaking or falling apart it was her responsibility to keep things safe. Worse yet if some sort of burglar had broken into their work while everyone was away she had to stop them or risk losing some of their precious resources. Not that she was eager to confront a robber. Even if she was a bigger and stronger pony than most mares her age she didn't like the idea of having to fight. 

Looking around the room for something to protect herself with Mecana was only able to find a tiny hammer she used for setting small gem stones into decorative pieces she built. Deciding it was better than nothing Mecana took the tiny hammer into her teeth and proceeded along the catwalk and down the stairs to the main floor of the forge. Walking deeper into the building she could hear the crunching even more clearly now. It was in random intervals and sounded like someone must have been making the noise instead of something like a broken machine. Proceeding slowly Mecana got closer to where they stored many of their supplies. Notably the gem stones and raw metals they used in some of their more expensive or fancy creations. 

"Trying to steal our gems, are you?" Mecana whispered to herself around the small hammer in her teeth. "Not if I have anything to say about it." Walking along slowly Mecana could hear the noise getting louder and was looking to sneak up on the would be thief. But suddenly the crunching stopped short and the sound of Mecana's hoof hitting the concrete floor echoed through the building just loud enough to be heard in the silence. She stood completely still and listened but there were no more sounds. The crunching noises had ceased. 

"Ah ha!" Mecana shouted as she rounded a corner to where the bins of gems were kept. But when she got there no one was around. Searching the area Mecana wasn't able to spot anyone, taking the hammer out of her mouth and into her hoof, she put it in her saddle bag and kept an eye out in the dim light of the building. "Where are you hiding you dirty rotten thief?" She took a few more steps and stopped when she heard another noise. It sounded like something scurrying along the floor on sharp nails, like a dog running quickly on all fours against a stone street. Whipping herself around she ran back and tried looking behind the storage bins that held various metals where she'd heard the sound but it went quiet again.

All of the bins were open at the top, making it easy to see what was inside and grab out if you desired. Thankfully that meant it would have been hard for her thief to hide inside any one of them. Which left her to searching around the bins to see if they were keeping their head down and out of her sight. She'd take a few steps forward and stop whenever she heard the noise of the scurrying nails again. She didn't know what that meant but something was clearly in her forge and she wanted it out. Deciding whoever the thief was was only moving when she did, Mecana walked in place to make the sounds of her hoof steps echo like she was moving forward. Instead she stayed in place until she saw something run past her on the opposite side of the bins. "Gotcha!" 

Running herself now Mecana rounded the corner of the bin she'd been standing near and gave chase to the thief. It moved surprisingly fast and was hard to make out in the dim light. Though after a while it took a sharp turn again and disappeared around another bin. When Mecana stopped to look around that corner she saw that the figure was gone again, hiding out. "Darn it! Where'd you go you little-" Her words were cut short as the sound of something behind her scurrying along and then slamming into something else surprised her. She turned around to hear a voice shout in surprise. "Got you now!"

Moving the opposite direction of where she'd came from Mecana found a metal grate laying on the floor. Confused she looked up to see something sticking out of one of the many air vents they used to let out the air pressure of the forge when it was in use. There were two feet and a tail dangling from the opening of the vent and Mecana's first thought was whoever this pony was he had an odd looking butt. As she looked down the wall directly underneath the thief she saw claw marks on the stone as if he'd used something sharp to climb up to the vent and get himself stuck there. The thief had been kicking his legs to try and pull himself into the vent but when it was obvious that wasn't working he eventually just stopped and let his legs dangle. "Say uh... do you think you could help me?" A voice came from the vents.

"Help you!?" Mecana asked offended. "What are you even doing inside of here!?" 

"Look I'm sorry, I didn't think anyone was here this late at night. But I'm kind of stuck right now and if you could pull on my tail that would be great."

"But if I did that then you wouldn't be here when I go to get the city guards to arrest you." Mecana said, feeling pretty proud of herself for catching the thief all on her own.

"Wait! Please, I wasn't stealing anything! I swear!" The voice cried out in panic.

"Oh yeah? So you were just hanging out by our bins full of gem stones for the fun of it?" 

"Well... no, I wasn't. But I wasn't stealing your gems! I was just hungry." The voice explained which confused Mecana even more.

"Hungry? So you were going to sell them to eat?" 

"Not exactly... I think it'll make more sense if you can get me out of here." The voice said and Mecana thought about it for a while before making her decision.

"Alright... but if you try to run I'll clobber you with my hammer! Understand?" The voice in the vents agreed that it wouldn't try to run and Mecana agreed to help. Propping up on her back legs she grabbed the thief by the tail with her teeth and pulled with all of her might. Eventually with enough tugging she was able to dislodge the figure from the vent and sent them both toppling onto the ground. When Mecana righted herself onto her hooves again she saw two green eyes looking up at her. "What the... you're a dragon!"

"Uh... yeah. Yeah I am." The little red dragon with the black fin on his head and spikes on his back said with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry about this." 

Several apologies and a long walk later Mecana and the thief that had her running around her forge in the middle of the night found themselves inside a late night hay burger restaurant. Mecana had worked up an appetite chasing the little dragon down and she was starving for something to eat. Despite their odd meeting Mecana decided to buy some food for the dragon as well, though honestly he looked like he'd had plenty. As far as she could tell the dragon was about the same size and height as Princess Twilight Sparkle's dragon assistant Spike, maybe they were even the same age. But the little red dragon had some more weight on him compared to Spike. His stomach and face more chubby than any dragon she'd seen in the past. The little dragon was happily eating up his hay burger with extra toppings as Mecana slowly ate hers and kept an eye on him.

"So I think you owe me an explanation now that we've had a chance to settle down and talk." Mecana said setting her food down. "Why were you in my forge again?" 

"Oh. Yeah, that." The dragon said as if he'd hoped she'd have forgotten about it. "Well you see I was kind of... living there." 

"Living there?" Mecana asked amazed. "How could you be living there?" 

"It was pretty easy actually." The little dragon explained sounding almost proud of himself. "I found a spot behind the empty bins you guys don't use to hide out during the day. Then when everyone goes home at night I'd come out."

"To eat our gem stones?" Mecana asked accusingly.

"Well... yeah, I kinda was doing that." The red dragon said sounding ashamed. "I was just so hungry. And your forge is so warm and safe, it felt great in there. I figured as long as no one got hurt you wouldn't miss a few gems here and there." 

"So in the end you were stealing from us." Mecana said sounding annoyed. "I probably should have turned you over to the royal guards anyway." 

"I tried to earn it!" The dragon exclaimed. "I mean when no one was around I'd sweep up the floors and sort through the bins any time you guys mixed up gems and rocks and things like that. Plus it gave me something to do so I wasn't bored all night. You need different magazines in your lunch room by the way. I've read them all at least twice." 

"You're not supposed to be in the lunch room in the first place!" Mecana said sounding agitated. "Argh. Forget it, whatever. Just... look I can't have you eating our supplies. Even if you've been acting as our secret janitor." She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed all of this. Somehow this little pudgy dragon had managed to hide away from them all. Who knew how long he'd been doing it.

"I understand." The little dragon said sounding disappointed. "I know what I did was wrong and I'm sorry. I don't really have any way to repay my debt." 

"It's fine. Just don't do it anymore okay?" Mecana said letting out a sigh. "Shouldn't you be home with your parents anyway? Why are you hiding out in a forge in the first place?" 

"I don't have a home." The dragon admitted. "I don't know who my parents were either."

"You're an orphan?"

"I guess." The little dragon shrugged. "I kind of remember my mom, but that was a long time ago. For about as long as I can remember I've been on my own. When I got older the other dragons started to treat me like I was a nuisance. No one would share their food or caves with me to stay in. So I came into Equestria because... I guess because I didn't have a choice." He sighed and hopped off the chair he'd been sitting in onto the floor. "Sorry I caused you so much trouble. Thank you for the food and for not telling the guards about me. I don't think I'd like a dungeon, even if it wasn't that different from a cave." With that the little dragon began to walk off, Mecana watching him go out the door. 

"Wait a second!" Mecana said as she rushed out the door after the little dragon. "Hold on now! Where do you think you're going?" Looking up at her the dragon shrugged. "You're just going out into the night without a plan." 

"I told you I don't have a home." The dragon explained and Mecana shook her head.

"I can't just leave you like this. Alright, listen to me. You can stay at my home tonight." 

"What!? But... I can't just impose on you like that!" 

"You broke into my forge and were eating my gems, but staying in my home is imposing?" Mecana asked amused at his logic. 

"Well that was fine because no one knew I was there!" The dragon said in response and Mecana shook her head. 

"That doesn't make it better. Look just come home with me for tonight. In the morning if you don't want to stay you don't have to. But I'm not leaving you out in the cold like this." Mecana explained but the little red dragon still looked hesitant. "Or I can just call the guards right now?" 

"Okay okay, I'll stay at your place!" The dragon exclaimed in fright and Mecana smiled happily.

"Glad you see it my way." Mecana said as she began waking home with the little dragon walking beside her. 

"Are you sure your husband won't get mad with you bringing home a stranger like this?" 

"Oh I'm not married." Mecana answered. 

"Oh. Your special somepony then?"

"Don't have one of those either." Mecana answered.

"Really!?" The dragon asked completely surprised. 

"Why are you so shocked about that?"

"It's just... I mean..." The dragon looked away embarrassed. "You're just really pretty and nice is all. I figured you must have been with someone." 

"Well don't you know how to sweet talk a lady when you want to." Mecana said happily. 

"It's true though. You've got that pretty blonde mane and you're in really good shape. Better than most ponies I've seen."

"If you think I'm something I have a friend in Ponyville named Apple Jack that would make your jaw drop." Mecana said amused as she stopped in front of her home. "We're here." Taking out her key Mecana opened the door and let the little dragon inside. He walked in slowly, almost like he was afraid to be in her home. She gave him some time to work his way in and be comfortable, closing the door after it seemed like he wasn't going to run away. "Like it?" 

"It's amazing." The little dragon said looking around the living room. "I've never been in a real pony's home before." 

"Well make yourself comfortable. I have a couch you can sleep on and there's some food in the fridge. Just don't eat me out of house and home, I have to have breakfast in the morning after all." 

"I don't eat that much." The dragon said, crossing his arms over his belly with a scowl. Mecana giggled at him as he tried to make a stern face at her. 

"That a fact? Oh I just realized! I never asked you your name." 

"My name? Well... the thing is... I don't... I don't have one." Mecana stared at him completely shocked. "If my parents gave me one they weren't around to tell it to me when I grew up."

"You don't have a name? What do you call yourself?"

"Me." The dragon answered. 

"Well that won't do. Hmm... well, from the look of you I'd call you... Cheeks!" 

"Cheeks?" The dragon asked in confusion. "Why Cheeks?"

"Because you have chubby little dragon cheeks." Mecana said with an amused smile, pressing her front hooves against his face and squishing his cheeks. The little dragon looked bored with the name.

"That's not very manly." He said through his squished face, Mecana pulling her hooves back to herself.

"Well you have a pretty cheeky attitude for someone that breaks into places and eats their gem stones, too." Mecana replied. "So Cheeks it is."

"That's really going to be my name?" The dragon asked.

"Should have picked your own when you had the chance, Cheeks." Mecana said feeling pretty happy with herself in naming him. "I'm going to make some hot cocoa to drink, do you want some?" 

"For real!?" The dragon asked excitedly. "Yes please! Thank you so much!" 

"Coming up." Mecana said cheerfully as she went into the kitchen and prepared the drinks for the two of them. The little dragon was a bit of a trouble maker but he didn't seem mean or bad. Just down on his luck and trying to get by. Besides it was kind of fun having a little friend around to talk to, he was even cute with those big cheeks of his. After warming up the water and mixing in the chocolate Mecana added some marshmallows to the drink and brought the two cups out on a tray. "Okay, ready for your late night dessert?"

"Oh for sure! It smells great!" The little dragon said, but to Mecana's shock he wasn't sitting on the couch or resting. Instead he was holding one of the many pieces of Rarity's sewing machine in his claws. 

"Wait wait wait!" Mecana said as she set the tray down on a near by table and rushed over to him. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"I... I saw you were building this thing here..." Cheeks said pointing to the sewing machine. "I got kind of bored waiting for you to finish so I started putting it together." 

"Oh no! No no no! You can't mess with this." Mecana said as she rushed over to the sewing machine to inspect it. "I'm building this for a very important friend of mine! I have to be sure it's-" She stopped though as she looked over the insides of the sewing machine. Glancing at the paper she'd been using as an assembly guide she looked between it and the machine several times. "You've... you've followed the directions perfectly." 

"Well yeah. You wrote them down pretty clearly." Cheeks answered.

"I can't believe it. You finished so much of it on your own. You even put the gears and pins in place. How did you do it without any tools?" 

"Well it was kind of easy." The dragon answered, holding up one of the gears he was about to place inside with his claws. "I just popped them in where it said to." 

"You... you have claws." Mecana said in amazement.

"Yeah, all dragons do." Cheeks answered.

"You have claws!" Mecana said again happily. "Oh my gosh, look at those little clawed fingers! You could put together so many things with those. All without using a single tool. This is amazing!"

"It is?" Cheeks asked confused.

"It is! Cheeks, how would you like to become my personal assistant?"

"What!? But you called me a thief just an hour ago. Now you want me to work for you?" 

"Those claws of yours are amazing. Compared to my hooves you can do more precise work on small objects in twice the time it would take me. With you by my side I could finish so many of my side projects that I'd get twice as many done." 

"You... you really want to keep me around?" Mecana nodded her head and Cheeks' eyes began to shake with tears. 

"Cheeks?"

"You're... you're the first pony, no, the first anyone to say they wanted me around." The little dragon said wiping the tears away from his eyes. 

"Aww. Come here little guy." Mecana said and hugged him against her chest, the small dragon using his arms to hug her back. "Life's been pretty rough for you, hasn't it?"

"I guess so." He said against her chest.

"Well things are about to get a lot better. I hope you're ready to work off those gems you got to eat and then some, because I plan to have you help me for a while if it's okay with you." 

"It's wonderful!" Cheeks said and hugged her tighter. "But wait... I don't even know your name."

"Oh, silly me. I should have introduced myself. I'm Mecana Ironhooves." 

"Mecana, that's a pretty name." The dragon said with a smile. "And I guess I'm Cheeks." 

"That's right, Cheeks. My personal assistant from today going forward." Mecana rubbed the top of his head, the little dragon enjoying her touch.

"Say, does that mean I get a paycheck too?" Mecana's hoof stopped rubbing and she looked down at him.

"Cheeky little dragon." She answered. "Your paycheck is free room and board as well as getting free meals. Not to mention me not telling the guards about your previous hiding out in my forge."

"Guess it's a better deal than a dungeon." 

"Well a dungeon doesn't have cocoa, even the best ones." Mecana said. "Now drink up, we've got a sewing machine to build together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gift Story for ZetaR02

**Author's Note:**

> Gift Story for ZetaR02  
> Cover Art by Senshion


End file.
